What does it take for an artist to be successful in the music industry today? What are some of the different ways that artists have promoted themselves and their work? And do artists still need the backing of a major record label in order to succeed? Limit: 7 responses
Nicole Bruder Part 1:
ReplyDeleteFor an artist to be successful in the music industry, I think they truly just need to have passion for what they do. When you have such a passion for something, that energy ricochets off of your person and people can just feel the energy. I think that this coincides with the fact that people are attracted to people who are their true authentic self. I think if you try to be anyone else but yourself, people will sense the fakeness and not like you even if you are talented. Being confident in who you are will definitely bring success not just to your life, but your music life as well. I think people like hearing music that they can connect to. Being yourself and telling your story through your music is the best way to gain a following.
Now with the use of social media, there are a ton of different ways in which an artist can go out and promote their work. With the different algorithms of these social media platforms, there’s not just one way to get your work out there. This allows the creator to be free and true to themselves with their content. With Instagram, you can post content on your stories with hashtags, make a reel, or even post a full post to your feed. Artists should always use relevant hashtags on their posts to increase their engagement. I think the best way to promote yourself using social media is through Tik Tok. Tik Tok has been one of the top video sharing apps for a little over a year now. Tons of users spends hours on end on this app, especially since the Pandemic started. As Tik Tok became more popular, they finally broke their “silence about how the social network classifies their content” (Martín). A social media platform being transparent about the way their app works and how to gain visibility with their algorithm is such a good way to be. With this, people will trust the app and have the right tools to launch their careers and lead them in the right direction. Tik Tok advises their users to stick to posting with hashtags and keep theor videos on the shorter side. An example of this is with Olivia Rodrigo’s song “Drivers License.” Her song blew up on Tik Tok just because people continued using the hashtag associated with the song and enjoyed the possible story line backing up the creation of the song. This alone shows the impact of Tik Tok on the music industry. If a song is popular on Tik Tok, it is most likely to skyrocket on the charts. Myles Tanzer reported that “Driver’s License” was “streamed 76.1 million times and sold 38,000 downloads in the U.S in its first week of release.” Now, the song holds multiple records across many streaming platforms.
Nicole Bruder Part 2:
DeleteBefore there was social media to launch artists, MTV was the biggest thing to get your name out there. People, such as Andrew Unterberger, have compared MTV to Tik Tok in regard to gaining artists popularity in the music industry. In his article he wrote, “MTV could make artists famous without there being a radio format for them to succeed on”(Unterberger). I think that this alone should give people the confidence to post their stuff onto Tik Tok because the platform is “its own little biosphere”(Unterberger). As artists are using social media to their advantage, I feel as though they have gained a sense of confidence in themselves. For some, it may take a little push to finally put themselves out there. I think since there are not too many regulations on social media platforms, it will make people feel free and have the ability to be themselves. As the views start coming in, their confidence will grow bigger and bigger.
Due to an increase in social media use, I do not think that artist necessarily need the backing of a major record label anymore. Personally, I like when people start small, gain an intimate group of followers, and then branch off into something bigger. I think it creates character and allows them to hold that authenticity factor that everyone tends to gravitate towards. When an artist gets signed to a label early on, it is hard to distinguish between what’s them and what is the label making them do in order for them to keep an image. An example of this is the Disney effect on singers. When Miley Cyrus was signed with Disney, she needed to put forth a good girl front or that she had everything in her life going smoothly. The second her contract was up, the world got to witness who the true Miley was.
The uncertainty of what will be popular on social media from day to day will always there, but I think that artists have the ability to do what they want when they want. I think they would much rather put the content they enjoy and have a passion for than to be signed to a label that makes them change who they are.
Martín, Sara. “TikTok Algorithm: How It Works.” Metricool, 14 Jan. 2021, metricool.com/tiktok-algorithm/.
Tanzer, Myles. “Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' Became the World's Biggest Song Via TikTok.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 21 Jan. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license-tiktok-spotify-11611235409.
Unterberger, Andrew. “How Tik Tok Became Gen Z's MTV .” Billboard, 19 Dec. 2020.
Kasey Kerrick
ReplyDeleteIn order for an artist to be successful with their music today, they need to branch outside of solely releasing their music. It is essential to use social media platforms in order to promote their music and their brand. If you are someone who is hard working and willing to put in the time it takes to promote your music, you do not need a record label in order to be successful. An example of an artist who did this successfully is Olivia Rodrigo. She has previously been known by her acting career in Disney Plus from the show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Her song went viral through TikTok and users doing popular trends with the song because of the relatability the song possessed with the users. The song was streamed 76.1 million times and sold 38,000 downloads from the fame that TikTok brought to it (Tanzer, Myles). TikTok users featured the song in their videos which made it viral. Using social media platforms to bring awareness to songs that are popular is a good strategy to use when wanting a song to go viral. According to Billboard, TikTok is the new MTV for Gen Z (Unterberger, Andrew). Most entertainers turn to TikTok in order to gain popularity because of the popularity of the platform. An early example of how the app helped a song go viral is with Lil Nas X and his hit Old Town Road. The users of the app made the song trend enough so that it hit the number one spot (Unterberger, Andrew). Many other artists have released songs where dances were made on TikTok and trends were formed. Because of the introspective ways that an artist can get their music out there, I do not believe that you need a record label in order to succeed. Today, there are multiple resources on-line you can access in order to make music. Computers and audio software are available to the common person. Because of this, making music does not require a professional studio (musician, Rory Seydel). Once you create your music, promoting it becomes the more difficult part. It takes a lot of drive and passion in order to promote your music. Artists that were most successful with promoting their music used platforms like YouTube, SoundCloud, and TikTok in order to gain interest (musician, Rory Seydel). It is important to gain an identity with who you are with your music and have a directed audience. Using social media to promote your music will assist with getting your songs out to the public. Of course a record label would help, but it is possible to take the driver’s seat and make a name for yourself by yourself.
Works Cited:
Tanzer, Myles. "Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Drivers License’ Became the World’s Biggest Song Via TikTok." Wall Street Journal 21 Jan. 2021,
Unterberger, Andrew. "How TikTok Became Gen Z's MTV." Billboard 19 Dec. 2020.
musician, Rory Seydel is a. “Why You Don't Need a Record Label.” LANDR Blog, 19 Jan. 2021, blog.landr.com/dont-need-record-label/.
Roberto Casillas
ReplyDeletePart 1
I think that in this day and age – more than ever before – talent, passion and hard work are the keys for an artist to be successful in the music industry. There are so many avenues for artists to put themselves out there and showcase their music for the entire world to listen. Streaming changed the music industry forever, long gone are the days where you had to go to a record store (even though I miss it so damn much) to buy physical copies of an album in order to be able to hear all of the new songs that your favorite artist dropped. Nowadays, you have a variety of platforms u can use to listen to basically any song you want and get this… it’s free! Sure, you have to pay a monthly subscription, but when you take into consideration the amount of music you have access to, it’s almost nothing. Artists realized this and slowly began to adapt to the times.
Streaming and the rise of the internet gave artists a chance that previously never existed. The chance to be independent without the backing of a big label while still being able to promote and advertise themselves in a very effective manner. New platforms such as Tik Tok, YouTube and SoundCloud offer the perfect habitat for new artists to launch their career and catapult to stardom. A few decades ago, MTV was the platform were new artists began to make a name for themselves, but as MTV began to change its programming, a void was left for these new platforms to fill. Tik Tok has become massive among Gen Z, and it has already helped launch the career and of some of the most popular artists of today. Tik Tok’s influence has been compared to the one MTV had in in the past, and for good reason. “Tik Tok has become an audiovisual force that hasn’t existed outside of radio and streaming in popular music since MTV first landed on the moon in 1981” (Unterberger). Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” broke the record of consecutive weeks at Billboard’s #1, a lot of people may not know that the song skyrocketed because of its success on Tik Tok. However, the clearest illustration of its influence this year might have been the chart resurgence of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” (Unterberger).
Roberto Casillas
DeletePart 2
However, Tik Tok is just one of the avenues for new artists to promote themselves. We’ve all probably heard of “SoundCloud rappers” and the music that’s available on that platform. So many new artists have started putting up free music on SoundCloud. The site might become even more appealing now that it could soon implement a new payment model that would allow you to pay your favorite musicians directly” (Bonifacic). This is huge news that only supports my argument that artists can be “self-made” without the backing of a major label to be successful, there are so many avenues the internet opened up for artists to break through on their own.
Drake is the perfect example of the new age artist that has adapted to the streaming era perfectly. Sure, Drake has record label backing, but he has figured out the streaming era to perfection. So much so that this week he became “the first artist to enter the chart at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 simultaneously” (Trust). Drake’s presence in social media is a big part of his success story, and his career can serve as a blueprint for other artists to follow to be successful in today’s music world.
Talent and creating great songs are still the number key for success. In the words of Oasis’s guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher, “with the internet, if you’re great you’re going to make it.”
Works Cited:
Bonifacic, Igor. “SoundCloud May Let Fans Support Artists Directly.” Engadget, 5 Feb. 2021, www.engadget.com/soundcloud-direct-payment-report-220258764.html.
Trust, Gary. “Drake Makes Historic Hot 100 Start at Nos. 1, 2 & 3, Led by 'What's Next'.” Billboard, 15 Mar. 2021, www.billboard.com/articles/news/9541075/drake-top-three-hot-100-debuts-whats-next-number-one.
Unterberger, Andrew. “Can TikTok Rival MTV's Heyday For Gen-Z?” Billboard, 18 Dec. 2020, www.billboard.com/index.php/articles/business/9501048/tiktok-mtv-music-industry-influence-comparison.
Corey Kremberg Part 1
ReplyDeleteI have been creating music myself for the past 13 years of my life. Through this journey, I have learned and battled a lot of the humps that hit artists early on. Some of these roadblocks come from just doing music. Gaining the confidence to perform and create is one of the biggest obstacles an artist usually hits. Once you have those two, doors begin to slowly open for you. One of the biggest success stories from music recently was Olivia Rodrigo’s song “Drivers License”. According to the article Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Drivers License’ Became the World’s Biggest Song Via TikTok the teen had 76.1 million streams and sold 38,000 records in the US during the first week. She even beat the previous record of most streams in one day (for a non-holiday song) grabbing 17.01 million streams the following day. You might wonder how exactly a person who had no previous huge success in the industry would be able to get a song and attention. The record itself was helped greatly by the app TikTok. The app helped so much, that the next day the views had doubled from being featured in so many dances. The music video itself is now over 50 million on YouTube. The biggest news from all of this was Olivia getting a cosign from Taylor Swift. In recent years, TikTok has become one of the best platforms for artists to both promote and make a dent in the music industry. Another crucial roadblock many artists are facing right now is the pandemic. The pandemic hit the creation industry pretty good. Concerts, festivals, and promotions have had to merge with the times. Most artists make dirt money; the pandemic hurt a lot of people’s momentum. According to the article From TikTok To Handmade Merch, Independent Artists Talk Staying Afloat In the Pandemic the majority of independent artists make only $10,000 a year. 28% of that is from streaming and 18% is from live performances. An artist named Pimienta was facing this dilemma. She decided to get creative and turn her garage into an art and music studio. This is a solid way of keeping music fun during the pandemic and increasing productivity. With productivity up, this means more music is being made. However, with no concerts, it is tough to find a way to get an audience so you can share your work and hopefully make a few bucks too. This is why virtual shows have become a popular technique. According to the article, there were over 44,000 global livestream events within the first five months alone. If you don’t think these performances can get big, think again. The artist Joji, managed to deliver a global livestream to a stadium sized audience. This shows that even in the toughest times, artists are still pushing limits and creating revenue. This also shows that a major label may not be necessary in today’s age.
Corey Kremberg Part 2
ReplyDeleteWith technology at our fingertips, sometimes we can reach bigger audiences and make more money working independently. The biggest challenge in the beginning is figuring out and actually getting your music onto music platforms like Spotify/Apple music. This is an easy way to collect royalties from people streaming your songs. According to the article 8 Ways Musicians Can Make More Money in 2021, the two types of royalties are performance and mechanical. It’s simple, one is for your streams and the other is for your performance. However, there are more steps you need to take before you are able to have a big enough audience to perform at a huge venue. Hosting little Live streams can be super beneficial. Interacting with your fans by doing a Q&A or a behind the scenes can increase their loyalty to you. This is a new generation of listeners. Making good music is one thing, but obtaining and keeping their attention is another. This is why using a platform like YouTube is super beneficial because it gives fans a one on one feel with you. Even sitting and playing one of your favorite games can be a very effective strategy of grabbing more fans from different areas. Music in 2021 is not just about the music you make; it’s how you express that music into real life.
CITATIONS
Cirisano, Tatiana. “From TikTok To Handmade Merch, Independent Artists Talk Staying Afloat In the Pandemic.” Billboard, 20 Nov. 2020, www.billboard.com/articles/business/9483133/tiktok-handmade-merch-independent-artists-pandemic-strategies-revenue/?utm_source=Sailthru&%3Butm_medium=email&%3Butm_campaign=Daily&%3Butm_term=daily_digest.
Tanzer, Myles. “Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' Became the World's Biggest Song Via TikTok.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 21 Jan. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license-tiktok-spotify-11611235409.
lover, Janette Berrios Music & art. “8 Ways Musicians Can Make Money in 2021.” Symphonic Distribution, 11 Feb. 2021, blog.symphonicdistribution.com/2020/12/8-ways-musicians-can-make-money/.
Matt Gallo
ReplyDeleteI believe it takes immense creativity to be a successful artist in today’s society. The possibilities are endless when it comes to success in the year 2021, and the music industry has gained massive popularity due to the boom of social media. One example of how one artist became popular is Olivia Rodrigo. Her song, “Driver’s License” blew up on Tik Tok and became a #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. If you told someone that 10 years ago social media would affect the music industry people would look at you funny. Although I personally am not the biggest fan of Tik Tok, I have seen what it does for the music industry. Constantly scrolling through different videos, you are bound to enjoy one song, and it is extremely easy to download almost straight from the app. According to Year In Music 2020’s article, How Tik Tok Became Gen Z’s MTV, is an extremely interesting article. It explains how Tik Tok is an audiovisual force that has not existed outside radio and streaming in popular music since MTV. MTV was such a huge hit in its prime, and Tik Tok is a more interactive and more stimulant version of it. The similarities between the two are impossible to miss, however it is insane how much more valuable Tik Tok is to this generation’s artists.
It is so accessible for artists to get exposure, that almost anyone with the right work ethic can become a successful artist. Some other notable songs that have erupted due to Tik Tok according to the Wall Street Journal article is “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd and “Mood” by 24kGoldn. One of the main components of how to make it big on Tik Tok is having popular influencers use your songs on their videos. Myles Tanzer wrote, “The app’s most followed user, Charli D’Amelio, posted a video of herself performing a lyrical-style dance to ‘Driver’s License’ which has been watched more than 30 million times” (WSJ, Tanzer). It used to be a massive success getting 30 million views on a music video, and now artists have the opportunity to receive that exposure on a 30 second clip.
I do not believe artists need a backing of a major music industry anymore due the amount of music platforms. I am familiar with some young men from my town (who think that they are going to make it big) that have music out on Apple Music. It is absurd the amount of options up and coming artists have to share their music. According to one of the class sources, Soundcloud is contemplating allowing fans to support artists directly through their platform. Considering that GoFundMe.com is a pretty popular and well-known way to do this, I think this would be a huge win for SoundCloud. When looking through history, a lot of artists have had tremendous struggles or terrible finical situations to become successful, and this could completely change the game. I also believe music is becoming much more creative and unique, and record labels tend to affect what artists release.
DeleteOne of the most successful artists without selling a physical copy of his music is Chance The Rapper. Amy Wang wrote an article on the Rolling Stone, that explains why some artists might start to hop on this trend. Wang wrote, “Most artists actually make a lot of money from streaming — but with a label, you’re only getting very little back of what you actually earn” (Rolling Stone, Wang). This just proves that the new unique ways such as Tik Tok, Soundcloud, or many other platforms are becoming popular for new artists. The music industry has changed dramatically so far in this century, and I am excited to see what else is next in the future.
Bonifacic, Igor. “SoundCloud May Let Fans Support Artists Directly.” Engadget, 5 Feb. 2021, www.engadget.com/soundcloud-direct-payment-report-220258764.html.
Tanzer, Myles. “Olivia Rodrigo's 'Drivers License' Became the World's Biggest Song Via TikTok.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 21 Jan. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license-tiktok-spotify-11611235409.
Unterberger, Andrew. “How Tik Tok Became Gen Z's MTV .” Billboard, 19 Dec. 2020.
Wang, Amy X. “An Indie Music Expert Explains Why Artists Are Turning Away From Record Deals.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 1 Nov. 2018, www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/ditto-music-lee-parsons-interview-749510/.
Chris Giorgio
ReplyDeleteBlog 5
Artists today are another group of individuals who have struggled during this pandemic. Touring and performing live is a big revenue stream for them and due to COVID-19 it is not possible anymore. In order to make it in the industry today it takes a lot of perseverance and hard work to stay afloat. In an article from Billboard artist, Lido Pimienta started making hand-made merchandise at home and selling it online. She also makes her own vinyl covers and clothing line coming soon. She even converted her garage into a studio to make her dream possible. Today in the Music industry it takes a lot to be successful, but there are new ways to have songs be exposed and shared with millions. Tik Tok is a new social media platform that uses sounds and shares music. The Song “Driver’s License”, by Olivia Rodrigo, recently blew up from the app and has millions of streams. Another way artists are trying to reach fans or get some spotlight is live streaming. There were hundreds of artists that livestreamed this past year due to quarantine and have reached millions at a time. From the list at Pollstar, here are some famous artists who livestreamed this past year, BTS, and Brad Paisley. Luke Combs is a popular country artist who also live streamed and reached over 1,500,000 people, and only performed twice. Artists today are promoting themselves more than ever through the use of social media and through streaming apps. Apps like Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud and more have taken over the music industry for streaming and platforms more like SoundCloud allow artists to promote themselves more. The app allows artists to freely post their tracks whenever and see results and get statistics back. In an article from Engadget it states, “SoundCloud could soon implement a new payment model that would allow you to pay your favorite musicians directly.” This would allow fans to tip and pay artists directly which is a big boost for those smaller independent artists. This would be another step in the direction of avoiding record labels and having more artists be independent. As streaming is taking over the way we listen to music, it is also leading more artists to move away from record deals and having more independent artists. This is a risky path, but is supported by an article from readcultured.com. Their article is titled, “Why We Need To Leave Record Labels Behind in 2020”. The article discusses how technology and recording apps and equipment are more easily accessible and that hit records can be recorded in a home studio. With streaming now available there is no need for a label and you can create and publish music all from a laptop, which eliminates the need for a label contract. Streaming also takes more money away from artists and I think its smarter to cut the record label out of the equation and start walking away with more money per stream if available. As new deals are proposed to adapt to streaming, being independent does have its perks and could be the better option for the artist.
Works Cited
Cirisano, Tatiana. "From TikTok To Handmade Merch, Independent Artists Talk Staying Afloat In the Pandemic." Billboard 14 Nov. 2020,
HipHopUnrapped. “Why We Need To Leave Record Labels Behind In 2020.” Medium, Cultured, 27 Jan. 2021, readcultured.com/why-we-need-to-leave-record-labels-behind-in-2019-bfa1db45036a.
"Top 100 Livestreamers." Pollstar 14 Dec. 2020, https://www.pollstar.com/Chart/2020/12/YELIvestreamers_916.pdf
Bonifacic, I. "SoundCloud May Let Fans Support Artists Directly." Engadget 5 Feb. 2021,
Hayley Cuttitta
ReplyDeleteThe music industry today is much different than what it used to be. For an artist to be successful in the music industry today the need to be able to quickly adapt to the changes in the world of music around them. An artist needs to follow their passion and master their craft. They also need fans and a strong social media following to get maintain momentum in the industry. President and founder Walter Tucker of LiveThe.Biz to help people stop struggling as bad when it comes to trying to get involved in the industry. Tucker stated, “We’ve all heard so many discouraging stories and seen biopics of major artists going bankrupt or disappearing due to bad business decisions or major career pitfalls. My purpose is to help translate and educate useful music business knowledge to artists and executives so that they can make the best choices on a business and creative level” which is very helpful to so many individuals that want to be successful but have trouble reaching their goals (Fox). One of the biggest ways to get new music out there right now is actually through TikTok. Social media is an incredible way for artists to promote themselves and their work. TikTok is especially great for some of these artists currently taking the music industry by storm because a fan base is created on TikTok with huge followings. The songs are also heard by people all over the world as there are trends created based off of songs. One trend on TikTok was the drivers license trend that helped a young singer, Olivia Rodrigo, become a huge sensation almost overnight. In the first week after the single “Driver’s License” dropped, the number of videos featuring the song on TikTok, and the number of views those videos received doubled each day (Tanzer). This goes to show how rapidly one can “blow up” on TikTok in a matter of days. Written in the article, TikTok became Gen Z’s MTV is was said that TikTok has become an audiovisual force that hasn’t existed outside of radio and streaming in popular music since MTV first landed on the moon in 1981 (Unterberger). Most of the songs that gain popularity so quickly on TikTok have never been on the radio, and sometimes have never been heard before. Some of these artists are not even signed to a record label at the time of the rapid popularity. I do not think that artists need the backing of a major record label in order to succeed now. Because of how social media attracts specific fan groups and following for artists, I think to an extent for many this is enough to succeed. As the content we view on social media is constantly changing and new, I think there will always be a great opportunity for artists to succeed and go as far as possible following their dreams.
Fox, MeiMei. “How To Make It In The Music Industry.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 13 Feb. 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/meimeifox/2019/02/13/how-to-make-it-in-the-music-industry/?sh=559332e51a65.
Tanzer, Myles. “Olivia Rodrigo's 'Driver’s License' Became the World's Biggest Song Via TikTok.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 21 Jan. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/olivia-rodrigo-drivers-license-tiktok-spotify-11611235409.
Unterberger, Andrew. “How Tik Tok Became Gen Z's MTV.” Billboard, 19 Dec. 2020.